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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · wave · club · fine · chip · date · kid · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. club — a group
  11. date — the fruit
  12. chest — a box
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. chest — of your body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. kid — child
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. club — for golf
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. club — for dancing
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com